Decorated food products, such as cakes, are popular items, particularly for special occasions, such as birthdays, holidays, weddings, anniversaries and other celebratory events. It is often desirable to customize these items with decorations added to the food product in order to increase the appeal of the food product or to tailor for a special occasion. For example, the decorations can be in the shape of a flower, a balloon, a bow, a licensed character (e.g., cartoon, fantasy figure), etc.
One type of food decoration is known as a sugar or gumpaste decoration (hereinafter referred to as a gumpaste decoration). Gumpaste decorations are made from materials typically considered to be food ingredients, e.g., confectionary powdered sugar, tapioca flour, gelatin, FD&C food colors, and preservatives (e.g., potassium sorbate). Designs of gumpaste decorations range from simple, plain two-dimensional shapes (e.g., hearts, balloons, etc.) to very ornate, very colorful three-dimensional objects (e.g., flowers, character figurines). FIG. 1 shows exemplary gumpaste decorations in the shape of a bow.
The physical characteristics of the gumpaste material allow for very detailed designs and configurations. Some gumpaste decorations are mounted on wires to provide shape, support, and decorative elements. Gumpaste decorations can be manufactured and sold in a white color or the gumpaste may be colored during the manufacturing process and sold as a solid color (e.g., red roses). The gumpaste decoration may be placed on the food in its as-received color or it may be painted to provide color. Some gumpaste decorations, either white or colored, may be painted before or after assembly, either by hand with a brush or by airbrush. The most ornate gumpaste decorations may be comprised of a combination of material elements, including but not limited to: white and/or colored substrate (e.g., white flower and green petals), paint applied before and/or after assembly (including hand and/or airbrush painting), wire inclusion either as a structural/skeletal frame and/or as a design feature (e.g., flower stems).
Some food decorators consider gumpaste decorations to be edible due to their ingredients. Others consider them to be nonedible decorations due to their hard, brittle texture and the imbedded wires in some decorations.
The gumpaste is mixed in equipment typically used for food production and is then sheeted or rolled to the desired thickness, either by hand or mechanically. If a uniform color is desired, the gumpaste may be colored during mixing. Shapes are cut from the sheet, either by hand or using a template or cutter similar to a cookie-cutter. These blanks are formed to the desired end configuration, either by freehand or using forms, and may be mounted on wires. The final configuration may be painted, either by hand with a brush or with an airbrush. The finished decoration is then dried to a specific moisture content, usually in a heated, forced air oven.
Gumpaste decorations may be made from scratch by an individual decorator. This is a very labor and time consuming approach, especially for commercial or production bakeries. Many premanufactured gumpaste decorations are sold to decorators in a raw, uncolored state so that the decorator may use their artistic/craft skills to finish the decoration. This approach is still very labor and time intensive and requires a high degree of skill. Alternatively, highly detailed, painted and formed gumpaste products are also available in a finished form. These lovely creations can be quite expensive and require significant hand-labor to produce. The problem with any of these scenarios is that the production of gumpaste decorations requires significant, highly-skilled, costly labor for painting and decoration.